Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump Takes over D.C. Police; U.S. Inflation up 0.2 Percent; Madison Mills is Interviewed about the CPI Numbers; New Technology to Detect Drones; Perseid Meteor Shower Tonight. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 12, 2025 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:30:00]

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Found that they believe that he was, in fact, too involved. D.C. residents hate, hate, hate this whole idea of Trump getting involved in local issues.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: But how do they feel about crime? Do they agree with the president that this is something that's out of control?

ENTEN: Yes, OK, so let's talk about that a little bit, right? D.C. residents on the top problem facing D.C., crime, violence and guns, in 2022 it was 36 percent. But look at this, it dropped 15 points to 21 percent earlier this year. I should note that about 50 percent of D.C. residents do believe that crime is either an extremely or very important problem. But even that 50 percent is down from 65 percent back in 2024.

So, D.C. residents, like the crime statistics themselves, suggest that crime is becoming less of an issue in our nation's capital. And at this particular point, just 21 percent of D.C. residents, in fact, believe that the top problem facing Washington, D.C., is crime, violence and guns. And that might be part of the reason why D.C. residents, in fact, believe that Trump's getting too involved in local issues and won't exactly like this move.

DEAN: And what does the data say about President Trump and his relationship to D.C., why he might have feelings about that?

ENTEN: Yes. Yes. And a lot of people have been concentrating on the policy of this decision by President Trump. But I think it's also important to point out the politics of this decision and just talk about one reason why Donald Trump might not like Washington, D.C., besides the crime issue. And that is because take a look at all of the counties, or the county equivalents nationwide. We're talking over 3,000. Where did Donald Trump do the worst in 2024? Well, he did the worst in Washington, D.C., getting just 6.5 percent of the vote. The vast, vast majority, 90 percent plus of D.C. voters went against Donald Trump. Again, I just think it's so important to point out that D.C. residents don't like this move, and they really don't like President Trump. They hate Donald Trump. They hate Republicans. Over and over again they have voted against Donald Trump, voted against Republicans. And again, on the crime issue, that's so important, a smaller and smaller percentage going down, down, down believe it is the top problem in our nation's capital. DEAN: All right, interesting to dig into those numbers.

Harry, always good to see you.

ENTEN: Nice to see you.

DEAN: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now, former White House director of message planning under President Biden, Meghan Hays, and CNN's senior political commentator and former special assistant to President George W. Bush, Scott Jennings.

And, Meghan, I want to start with you in terms that "Star Wars" fans and Scott will understand here, which is, in the -- the politics of what's going on in Washington, D.C., not sort of the policy, but the politics. Admiral Ackbar from "Star Wars" might say, it's a trap. Why do you think this is a trap for Democrats?

MEGHAN HAYS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think Democrats have learned, in the last election, and how Donald Trump continues to frame things, that talking about crime and immigration are two things that poll very popular with the American people. So, when Democrats come out here and say, don't believe your lying eyes, D.C. doesn't have crime, nobody actually believes that and it just falls into Donald Trump's messaging and Donald Trump's trap because it -- we just look crazy saying that. And so, I think that it's smart for Muriel Bowser to come out and say, we're going to work with you. We're excited you're here. We wish you -- we would have done this differently, and we wish you would have -- you know, it is concerning to us, but we wish you would have worked with us. But we're not going to say, don't believe your lying eyes.

BERMAN: Scott.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I totally agree. I think that anybody who visits Washington on a regular basis, anybody who lives there, would tell you the city is unsafe. This argument that some people are putting forth that it's a totally safe place to be, and the president's making up this crisis? No, it's an emergency. I mean, I myself saw a body hit the floor at the bottom of the escalator in Union Station back in February. An 18-year-old kid was gunned down and murdered there in cold blood.

So, I think Meghan is, on the strategic piece, is exactly right. I think Democrats did the same thing on immigration, frankly. You know, the president says, I want to crack down on immigration, and have some internal enforcement and shut down the border, and Democrats, of course, went all in on defending the other position. I think he's going to find a lot of political support around the country for the idea that our national capital should be safer than it is.

BERMAN: So -- so, Meghan, what would your advice be as a communications expert to Democrats on how to communicate this?

HAYS: Look, you just have to own -- yes, D.C. has a crime problem. I've lived here for -- on and off for 20 years. I do not think it is unsafe, as the president is making it, or Scott is making it sound. There are issues here. But you can't fight back on rational things if the statistics have gone down. It's not as unsafe as it was two years ago.

You just -- you need to -- you need to go back to what actually works for Democrats. You need to accept the help. You need to continue to move forward. And you need to not let him divert his -- the media attention away from things like the economy and the Epstein files. Those -- that is what he is trying to do here. And Democrats play into his hand when they fight back on rational things, like the -- the statistics or like January 6th, where he didn't call in the National Guard.

So, you know, it's just -- it's an interesting dynamic, but I just -- you can't let -- you can't let the, the enemy -- perfect be the enemy of the good. So, you just -- you have to stick to the issues of the economy.

BERMAN: You're talking about the economy. And we do have some breaking news here. The reason I keep looking down at my computer is there are new CPI numbers, new inflation numbers. These out for July. The CPI is 2.7 percent. Inflation basically at 2.7 percent. That is more or less in line with expectations in July.

[08:35:01]

And, Scott, I do suppose a simple question here is, can those numbers be trusted? They come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, numbers where the president says they're rigged. Will he say these numbers, which are in line with expectations, not -- I don't think a significant jump, will he say these were rigged.

JENNINGS: I don't know. I mean some people think the CPI is not totally trustworthy because some of the data that goes into it is not exactly observed prices. That it's, you know, sort of other estimates of prices. But the reality is, the way we're going to cover it today is, this is basically in line with what economists expected. Hopefully the markets will, you know, react to this in a positive way.

BERMAN: The markets I think, expected actually a slightly higher increase on this, Meghan. And 2.7 is what it came in and they were expecting 2.8. So, this is not a significant rise at this point. You can see futures a little bit up here.

So, on this, you have the unemployment numbers, the jobs numbers from -- from -- revised down in May and June that were quite bleak. These numbers, which are basically in line, Meghan. What should Democrats be saying about them?

HAYS: Look, the economy is what people feel every day. It's the price of groceries. It's the price of housing. It's what people feel at the end of the month when they have money or don't have money. So, these numbers and these statistics that come in, that is great for us to talk about. It is great for the markets to respond to. But the economy really is what everyday people are feeling and what everyday people are feeling in their pocketbooks. And they'll be able to vote and they'll be able to make those decisions in the midterms. And I think that, at the end of the day, people's -- the cost of goods are going up, and that is what is impacting people, and that is what's going to matter coming into the midterms.

BERMAN: Scott, we do have this big summit on Friday, we think, between President Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska. What are the risks for President Trump as he walks into this from a domestic political standpoint?

JENNINGS: Well, the risk for the world is, is that Vladimir Putin simply has no interest in peace at all. I mean, it's not really a risk to President Trump. He's trying his hardest to get to a peace agreement here, just as he has in seven other conflicts around the world. The risk for -- for everybody, and the risk for Europe, is that Putin simply is not a trustworthy person. He's going to try to string the free world along. And he wants to continue the war. And he's just going to be unreasonable.

So, you know, I don't think you can fault the president for trying. I hear people doing that right now. I think he's earnestly trying to get to a resolution. And I think he also knows that it only ends with a negotiated settlement. Something has to happen here so both parties can walk away feeling like they can end the war on, quote, their terms. Zelenskyy needs to be able to do that in Ukraine. Putin is never going to wave a white flag back in Moscow. Let's just be realistic here. And so, the president trying to get to a situation where that occurs, it's tricky, but we ought to give him some latitude to operate is my view.

BERMAN: We'll see. He said he would walk away if Putin doesn't show up with a deal. We'll see. We'll see what the bar there is.

Scott Jennings, Meghan, great to see both of you. Thank you very much.

Kate.

Actually, Jessica.

DEAN: President Donald Trump confirming he's looking at reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. New reporting on what he's considering and when that decision might come.

And how new drone detection technology could protect against the growing threat of dangerous attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:42:42]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, and breaking just moments ago, a very new -- very important new data out from the federal government on the economy. The July CPI report just out shows that U.S. inflation was up just 0.2 percent last month.

Let's get to CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich, who has got much more detail and much more of what is inside these numbers.

What are you seeing?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: A tamer inflation report despite President Trump's tariffs. This is better than expected. Month over month, as you mentioned, up 0.2 percent. On an annual basis, up 2.7 percent in July. That's also what we saw on an annual basis for the month of June.

When you look at the key categories that we always look at, energy, food and shelter, energy fell by 1.1 percent. That was largely driven because of gas prices falling in the month of July by 2.2 percent.

Look at that, food. I mean this is where people spend their money, right, food, every single day. Food, flat, zero percent, and actually down at the grocery store by 0.1 percent.

And then shelter. We always usually see an increase because that is what people are paying on rent. And we know that rents are rising. That is usually the biggest share of this report.

But when we look at core inflation, this is where we're starting to see some of those price increases.

BOLDUAN: OK.

YURKEVICH: Core inflation actually came in hotter than expected. So, month over month, up 0.3 percent. And on an annual basis, up 3.1 percent. That's actually the highest reading we've seen since February.

And this is important because it strips out that volatility of the energy, of the food prices.

BOLDUAN: Right.

YURKEVICH: So, you're looking at other categories. Other categories like apparel, toys, furniture, appliances. These are things that people are spending more discretionary. You see, though, toys, up 0.2 percent. Furniture came in -- that should be 0.9 percent.

BOLDUAN: That's what I was (INAUDIBLE), like, OK.

YURKEVICH: Its 0.9 percent on furniture.

Appliances, though, down. We saw a lot of people front-loading those bigger purchases of appliances before the tariffs hit. So, that may be a pullback in consumer spending.

Apparel, clothing, back to school shopping, up 0.1 percent. And then beef prices was on there. We've seen beef prices rising dramatically over the past couple months, up 2.4 percent.

[08:45:01]

So, while you're saving some money at the grocery store, certain items, like beef, are up 2.4 percent.

And we're looking at markets right here. You can see, they are up. This is a better than expected report in the face of so much tariff uncertainty.

BOLDUAN: And also in the face of so much uncertainty around just the department that puts out these numbers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is the White House and the president's reaction to this will be fascinating today.

YURKEVICH: And the BLS actually has noted that they have had to pull back in some of the surveys of different cities where they collect this inflation data. So, already some cloudiness around this report.

BOLDUAN: All right. Thank you so much, Vanessa.

YURKEVICH: Thanks.

BOLDUAN: Jessica.

DEAN: With us now, senior markets reporter for "Axios," Madison Mills.

Madison, thanks for being here.

I first -- just give us some context. Vanessa just laid it all out for us. What does this say to you?

MADISON MILLS, SENIOR MARKETS REPORTER, "AXIOS": Well, what's really interesting is we're seeing the stock market rallying this morning. And that's no surprise because investors have been very glass half full since really those lows that we saw back in April.

But as your reporter just so smartly laid out, this is sort of a mixed print when you look under the hood. The core CPI, that strips out some of the volatile sectors, like food and energy, that came in hot. But the headline number came in cold. So, for the Federal Reserve, how do you view these inflation numbers?

DEAN: Yes.

MILLS: Is it actually good news for the path forward on inflation.

DEAN: And so what -- what do you think? How will they internalize that because -- as they -- as they weigh any sort of rate cut?

MILLS: Well, and I'm -- I'm reading emails from sources as I'm on set with you right now.

DEAN: Yes.

MILLS: And they are telling me that this is a dovish print, meaning the Federal Reserve has the option to view this as an excuse to cut interest rates, or as reason to cut interest rates. But then, from Mohamed El-Erian, one of my favorite sources on Wall Street, a bond legend, he is saying that that divergence between the headline and the core number, that's going to make it more difficult for the Federal Reserve to reach consensus. And then, at the same time, you have the labor market numbers that came in a little bit rough in the last jobs report. And the Fed looks at unemployment and inflation. So they're in a very difficult spot right now.

DEAN: Right, because they really have to take it all, you know big picture. And it sounds like, based on what Vanessa was saying, and now how you're also adding layers to this, that it's really -- what you need to know about today is that there's the core inflation numbers, and then there's -- there's the other data set. And those are -- those are two things that you have to take them all together.

MILLS: Exactly. That's exactly right. And it points to the challenge for the Federal Reserve because of that dual mandate of employment and inflation. And we've seen them kind of talking about how they're favoring inflation. You hear Fed Chair Jay Powell talking about that 2 percent inflation target time and time again. But when you start to see cracks in the labor market, if those get more severe, you could see the Fed transitioning to focus on the labor market and cutting rates to protect that labor market. And then, of course, we also have the tariff zooming in the background here, and whether or not that's going to lead to any further cracks in the labor market as well.

DEAN: And also to, as Kate mentioned, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you know, has had -- had their chief statistician fired because Trump didn't like the numbers. Their reaction will be very telling today.

But just as someone who reads these numbers, the risk of politicizing these numbers has to be high.

MILLS: It's certainly high. And that's why it's been so critical historically to have a nonpartisan Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's not just important for, you know, consumers who are understanding the economy. It's important for traders.

DEAN: Yes.

MILLS: It's important for my sources on Wall Street who are trading, you know, inflation protected securities to trust in this data.

DEAN: Yes.

MILLS: It's very critical for -- for global markets. So, that's certainly going to be something we're covering going forward.

DEAN: All right, Madison Mills, thank you so much.

A major collision at sea. A Chinese military ship crashing into its own coast guard. What led up to that high-speed collision?

Also, we have new details this morning about a meteor that tore through the southeastern U.S. before landing in Georgia. What scientists have learned about the extraterrestrial rock.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:53:16] BOLDUAN: The Transportation Department is now clearing the way to allow more drones in the skies. But as drone technology grows, so do the security concerns, especially with major events like the World Cup and the 2028 Olympics to be held in the United States. And both, right around the corner.

CNN's Pete Muntean has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're good to go. You can launch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is what it looks like when drones are flying where they shouldn't and are about to be taken over. This demonstration by Israeli company D-Fend Solutions comes as drones are taking off as a tool of war.

ZOHAR HALACHMI, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, D-FEND SOLUTIONS: They are a threat for airports. They are a threat for critical infrastructure.

MUNTEAN (voice over): CEO Zohar Halachmi says even off the shelf drones can now be easily outfitted to drop grenades or carry explosives, like during the Ukrainian attack on Russian air bases in June. It is the latest concern of lawmakers on Capitol Hill as they're calling for greater coordination from federal agencies to protect large events, like the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): With minimal skill, bad actors can use these drones to launch attacks or create chaos.

REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-FL): Potential for a coordinated drone attack on our -- on an airport, seaport or mass gathering is a credible and growing threat.

MUNTEAN (voice over): Here, D-fend's system uses an antenna to detect radio signals emitted by drones from the moment they take off, feeding information back to a command center in real time.

MUNTEAN: You essentially just create your own no drone zone.

HALACHMI: Correct. It's a no-fly zone.

MUNTEAN (voice over): First, a demonstration of a lone, unfriendly drone flying into our airspace. The system detects the drone. Then, with the push of a button, takes control, sending the drone to land in a predetermined spot.

[08:55:01]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, this is our unfriendly drone here.

MUNTEAN (voice over): Next, a demonstration of multiple hostile drones in the air at one time, what's called a drone swarm. MUNTEAN: It looks like they're all coming towards us now.

MUNTEAN (voice over): Once again, the system pulls the drones into its metaphorical tractor beam, setting them down in a safe zone and providing the location of the drone operator whose controls have gone dark.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pilot has no idea that we're doing this.

MUNTEAN (voice over): D-Fend says this is based on the science of attacking computer viruses, filtering out good and legal drone users from malicious ones. Even the Federal Aviation Administration has tried the system and similar technology from other companies during a series of tests this spring.

BRYAN BEDFORD, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: I can assure you that government's focused on making sure that we get the technology right and we get the security right.

MUNTEAN (voice over): The cost to buy this system, hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. D-Fend calls it a small price to pay to protect against a growing threat in our skies.

MUNTEAN: Why not just shoot it down?

HALACHMI: Because it's really dangerous. What you would like to do is to take that in the safest and controlled way as possible.

MUNTEAN: Drones are such a new threat that there is another problem, rules and laws are struggling to keep up. Members of Congress say the federal government has limited authority to disable malicious drones, leaving what they call a glaring gap in our national preparedness. Major sports leagues are also pushing Congress to give them more authority over drones. In June, a Maryland man pled guilty to flying his drone near an NFL playoff game when he knew he shouldn't have.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Pete, thank you.

President Trump confirms his administration is considering softening laws on marijuana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some people like it. Some people hate it. Some people hate the whole concept of marijuana because if it does bad for the children, it does bad for people that are older than children.

It's a very complicated subject. They -- you know, the subject of marijuana. I've heard great things having to do with medical, and I've had bad things having to do with just about everything else. But medical and, you know, for pain and various things, I've heard some pretty good things, but for other things --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The president saying his administration is considering changing marijuana from a schedule one drug to a schedule three drug. The DEA considers schedule three as drugs with a low -- moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependance. The president says the decision could be made soon.

New video shows a Chinese coast guard vessel colliding with one of its own warships while chasing Philippine boats. It happened in the highly contested South China Sea, where a territorial dispute remains between China and the Philippines and other nations. Officials say this happened while the Chinese boat was distributing aid to Filipino fishermen.

And let's preface this by saying, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but that's the worlds ugliest dog, Petunia, a hairless bulldog. She was crowned the winner of the 2025 World's Ugliest Dog contest in California. She's bringing home $5,000 and a merchandise deal with Mug Root Beer. Petunia, you just keep on shining.

John.

BERMAN: We should all look like Petunia. Petunia's not that ugly.

DEAN: I know.

BERMAN: Petunia's got a great personality also, and very nice.

All right, get ready to run outside tonight. Should be peak viewing for the Perseids meteor shower. Let's get right to CNN's Derek Van Dam.

Derek, so the streaks in the sky not under, you know, invasion from extraterrestrials, as far as we know.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, as far as we know. I need to confirm that still. But, hey, John, this -- this story has got so much nostalgia for this meteorologist. I have got countless stories setting up the Adirondack chairs in our backyard with my mom and my dad this time of year to go check out the Perseids meteor shower. And, wow, what a spectacle. It's beautiful. 2:00 to 3:00 this morning. Set those alarm clocks. You can get the best viewing if you look in more of a northerly direction. But there is this radiant, which is where the meteors fall through. And you'll be able to see it across the entire sky.

And the cool thing about this, the beautiful spectacle overhead actually has the potential to create over 100 of these per hour. Yes, that's quite a sight. Do you wish upon a falling star, right? I say that to my kids all the time.

But the only thing working against us tonight is the bright moon. We had a full moon just a couple of nights ago. So, that could kind of hinder things, but it's worth it. Go check it outside. Take it from me.

Now, sky conditions clearly crucial for this forecast. Not the best conditions along the East Coast, but the Pacific Northwest and the Plains will be the best.

Now, is it a meteoroid, is it a meteor or is it a meteorite? We talk about these words quite often, right? Remember, meteor actually enters the atmosphere, burns up. That's what you'll see tonight.

A meteorite actually makes its way through the atmosphere and reaches the ground. Remember what happened in June when this fireball lit up the day sky here in the southeastern U.S.? There was a sonic boom associated with it. It shook houses. That meteorite actually reached the ground and punctured a hole in somebody's house in northern Georgia.

[09:00:04]

So, they sent this rock, this extraterrestrial rock, to a laboratory.